The Boleyns didn’t help with the butchering. Edgar put it best, “Nobles don’t get their hands dirty.” It was his go-to dialogue whenever asked to do something he didn’t like. Neither Alexander nor Victoria refuted the statement as they did with most other things. Both siblings looked away whenever the guts were out in the open. Diya wasn’t sure whether or not they were squeamish. If either of them had any interest in climbing the tower, they needed to get over any such qualms sooner than later. However, when silver light flowed from Akarai's chest, the young nobles rushed over to investigate the hunts' rewards.

The giant wolf gave them three cards: Bestial Senses, Wilderness Traversal, and Territorial Awareness. Since the first of the three featured a big one in the corner, only Lawrence could use it. After gaining his Soul Card, he was officially a tier-one climber. His deck size had increased to five—including the soul card, and it could house one tier-one card and three of tier-zero. However, they still didn't know what keywords his soul card would contain. Melee-focused combatants, scouts, and lookouts favoured sense-enhancing cards. If he didn't use Bestial Senses, they could sell it for decent coin.

"I don't think I'll need it," Lawrence said. "It might sell for almost as much as Akarai's bounty."

"I agree," Edgar said. "I need—"

Alexander threw the Wilderness Traversal card at his younger brother. "This is your pay and cut for this hunt," Alexander said. "You almost died tripping over your own feet three times before we pulled ahead. This will help you, Eddy."

Edgar fumbled with the catch and dropped the card. He picked it up, glaring at his brother, but then nodded. He removed the rope card from his deck of four—including the still-blank soul card—and threw it at Diya. "This is useless. I can't afford to clutter my deck with what should be your responsibility."

Victoria opened her mouth to argue, but Diya shook his head. She got the message and didn't push the conversation. They had a long journey home ahead of them, and letting Edgar sulk in silence was better than listening to him talk. Alexander gave Diya the Territorial Awareness card.

"If I remember correctly, the compendium says it makes the wielder aware of topography, wildlife, and vegetation in their direct vicinity," Alexander said. "I'm not entirely sure how it works, but this is for you."

"I'd rather have the money, mate," Diya replied. "I lost a hook today, and my boots are coming apart."

"This is on top of the money," Victoria stated. "Consider it a bonus. You went above and beyond a trapper's duty and took risks that should be ours."

"That's not fair!" Edgar protested.

"You can complain when you genuinely contribute to a hunt." Alexander snapped at his brother. "If it weren't for father's insistence, you'd be with a novice team instead of us."

Diya glanced hesitantly between the three siblings before nodding and pocketing the card. "Thanks," he said before focusing on beheading Akarai and the skinning. "I'll keep it with my standby cards."

Lawrence tried to help, but the new summon kept him distracted. Even though it was wolf-life, the canine bounced around like a puppy, wagging its tail and jumping up on Lawrence. Diya took care of most of the work. He didn’t want to say it, but Alexander’s fat fingers were too slow. Besides, due to Diya’s role as the trapper, he seldom got involved in the chase or skirmishes. Taking charge of the butchering came under his responsibilities.

Diya removed the guts first. Then made clean cuts between the hide and flesh, severing the sinew between them. He was confident that the fur would fetch a modest amount in the markets. It had suffered minimal ripping during the trapping and fight. Time and practice had made him excellent at skinning, but he hated the job. Diya couldn’t wait to get his spirit and move onto the higher floors. From what he had heard, barely anyone bothered with skinning or butchery once they had their spirit. The real money was in the cards, after all. Occasionally, people dug around in magic-using beasts for their cores or butchered beasts if there was a demand for the parts. Otherwise nobody bothered with such time-consuming jobs.

Since the party had taken Akarai down without piercing the hide too many times, Diya took extra time cutting it free. The better the state, the more money they’d make. As far as he could tell, no other predators haunted the valley. Diya guessed the troglodytes kept them away. However, the party would need to move on before the wind picked up or darkness fell. The smell of Akarai’s blood would draw curious noses, and the troglodytes probably wanted revenge, too.

The rest of the team ate and rested. Victoria sat with Edgar, nursing his bruised ego, while Alexander played with Lawrence’s spirit. Diya struggled not to get distracted by the snow-white canine as it frolicked. The narrow snout and slender hips gave it a feminine vibe.

Beast-type soul cards typically came with three abilities. The first either featured full or partial body transformations or a summon. Diya had read the former was incredibly difficult to master and believed Lawrence had lucked out. The latter two abilities for beast types were usually augmentations which enhanced the user's physiology in theme with the beast. According to the literature, a tortoise card would likely improve defence; a bull would grant strength and rabbit speed. Diya believed an augmentation which enhanced Lawrence's senses was a safe bet.

“Do beast and plant spirits have genders?” Diya asked, carefully working his way around one of the hind legs.

“Not by default,” Victoria answered. “In the stories, the narrator always gives them a gender pronoun. I don’t know whether that’s for the sake of convenience or not, though”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“It’s up to the practitioner,” Alexander added. He looked at the almost-skinned wolf for a second but then squirmed and diverted his eyes. Diya chuckled, remembering the last hunt when he had jokingly thrown a kidney at Alexander. The lordling had suffered bloody offal to the face.

“He’s right.” Edgar joining the conversation, took all of them by surprise. “I’ve been reading up on it, and the summon's base shape depends on the practitioner’s perception and personality when forming the bond. When Gaia created the link, the image he had in his head was of Akarai. So, the spirit resembles him. At the same time, Lawrence is a little bitch of a man.” He laughed at the jab, but the rest of the party ignored it. “As a result, the spirit has feminine features.”

The temptation to poke fun at the youngest Boleyn’s jealousy boiled up inside Diya, but he wrestled it down. To be fair, he was jealous, too and would put money on the twins being in the same boat. They all wanted spirits so they could start climbing.

Edgar claimed Akarai’s top fangs once Diya finished up. Victoria rolled her eyes at her brother. They’d inevitably become a prop in a fabricated story once they were in the next pub. Diya didn’t care, though. The teeth had no value and the less attention drunk Edgar paid him, the better.

After Diya finished skinning the beast, Lawrence neatly folded the hide, wrapped it in a long piece of oiled cloth and shoved it in his bag. He was responsible for carrying the cooking gear and bulk of the harvested materials. He had the build for it. Diya finished the day’s work by digging around inside Akarai for a magic core before washing his hands with what remained in his water skin. Alexander offered to help carry the camping gear and other miscellaneous equipment when they started their journey back. Unwilling to give Edgar more things to complain about, Diya rejected the offer.

Besides their weapon and light armour, the nobles only carried a change of clothes, their bedrolls, and modest rations. Diya had the most food of all of them since he'd trapped a couple of rabbits while waiting. While they walked, he shared the roasted meat, wondering why the fire and smell hadn't drawn the troglodytes to the camp.

The journey started silent, but Rai—Lawrence couldn't think of a better name—managed to get almost everyone laughing. Everything fascinated the newborn summon. Rai stuck her nose in every flower they encountered and chased after every critter she spotted. Occasionally she’d run up to one of the party and fall into a play bow or roll onto her back, expecting belly rubs. Unlike most pups, though, Rai understood every word out of Lawrence’s mouth and obeyed. When he called the wolf, she’d run to his side and walk at his heel.

“You won’t have to teach her to fetch and sit,” Alexander said. “That’s a shame. Training has always been my favourite part of getting a dog.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Mostly. Toilet training and stay have always been a challenge.”

“My mum cleaned up after your dogs, though.” Lawrence laughed, and Victoria joined in.

Once again, Diya noticed how she looked at Lawrence. It made his blood boil. He wished she’d have eyes for him instead. It was a good thing Lawrence only ever responded to her stares with smiles. Diya couldn’t tell whether he was clueless or respected the difference in station.

Alexander increased his pace, walking in the front of the pack with Diya.

“When are you going to get her mind off him?” He asked. “If Father finds out she’s infatuated with the maid’s son, things are going to get tenser than they already are.”

“It’s not like my station is much better than his. I’d rather your parents be furious with him instead of me.”

“Are you kidding? You’re the son of the best sword master in New Calcutta. He trains the Boleyn defensive force and the children of nobility—”

“Lesser nobility,” Diya said, correcting his friend. “The inner circles may still bow to Baba since he was once their teacher, but the respect is only superficial. They stopped patronising his school after what happened with Neer."

“Thanks to their blind shunning, he works for my family now, and we got to be friends.” Alexander grinned, nudging Diya in the ribs and making him stagger. “Silver-linings, my friend. Once the Boleyns enter the inner circle, the Sen name will follow. Besides, aren’t you from a royal bloodline?”

“Heritage matters very little when you’re not the first son.” Diya realised his words much too late. Edgar’s glare confirmed that he’d pay for the statement later. “Why else would Baba leave the security of old Calcutta for the new one? Either way, Lawrence and I aren't on an even playing field. I suspect there'd be trouble if anyone saw Victoria walking arm in arm with a man of my skin colour. Lord Boleyn—"

"Father is the last to care about colour, and you know that, Diya," Alexander said, cutting him off.

While walking along a narrow river, the party spotted another group fighting scaled, bipedal creatures. The trio fighting the animals appeared to be toying with them. The swordsman dancing around the creatures looked familiar—probably a former student of his Baba’s. His two companions appeared less skilled and stumbled around. Diya guessed he was helping them train. Their spear wielder sat on the ground far from the fight while a skinny man stood over her. Petals floated out of his hand and coated her arm, giving off a warm glow.

“Is that a plant soul?” Lawrence wondered out loud.

Victoria nodded. “It’s probably rare if it can heal someone on the ground floor. I heard most plant souls don't get healing abilities until the second or third tier."

“What makes you say that?” He asked. “The user could've already gotten it to tier-two.”

“Upgraded spirit users can’t enter the ground floor, you dolt,” Edgar said, catching up to the others. The brisk march had turned his chubby face a light pink. “You can't upgrade a soul card unless you've at least visited the first floor, and once you climb past the ground floor, you can never return. What in Gaia's name are the Boleyn trainers teaching climbing recruits nowadays? The ground floor would be teeming with high-level climbers otherwise."

“Keeps spoilt rich pricks from buying their way into the best hunts,” Diya grumbled under his breath. He could picture Edgar stealing money from the family to pay mercenaries and heading to the most dangerous parts of the floor. The stories claimed danger birthed the best soul cards. Considering how Gaia had rewarded Lawrence, he wondered whether it was true. Of the four spirit types, the beast variety was the second-rarest. Edgar was right. It wasn't fair.

The fight didn’t interest Diya as much as the glowing doorway behind the group. His brother’s journal spoke of them, too. Once a party got too strong for a floor, the tower occasionally created such portals. Most of the time, they took climbers to the next floor's hub. Sometimes, they'd drop them off in hidden nooks, caves, valleys, or ruins full of riches. Some said it was Gaia rewarding hard workers. Others believed the tower wanted people to move on from areas they'd outgrown.

Diya couldn't wait to be so strong that Gaia resorted to bribing him. The sooner he reached the seventh interval—floors thirty to thirty-five—the sooner he’d figure out whatever happened to Neer. He refused to believe the Ansons’ incriminating claims. Neer was a good man. Diya was sure of it.